


Fight or Flight Pt1

by KH310-S (Author_of_Kheios)



Series: Mer-Quarium [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Martin develops FEELINGS, Martin's Story, Mention of Side Character Death, Momanda, Orchid is not amused, Sea Monsters, W is the cutest mer ever, mermaid au, soft angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 09:17:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20561921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Author_of_Kheios/pseuds/KH310-S
Summary: Part 1/2Elijah rescues a mer that risked human contact to save his sister and later interviews him to learn more about the sea monster that attacked them.





	Fight or Flight Pt1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jukraft](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Jukraft).

> Welcome, or welcome back! On today's episode of Mer-Quarium... XD
> 
> But for real, now we begin getting origin stories for all the mer that eventually join Elijah's collection. For the most part, these can all be read as standalone stories, but it certainly makes things easier to read them in chronological order, just saying. Also, I promise "Dr. Joshua Kamski" will make sense when I finally get to his story, which is still quite a ways out. I'm not gonna explain it now because... well, spoilers, obvi. X3 For now, just sit back and enjoy some ficcage that I mostly wrote as a gift to my lovely friend and co-creator, Jukraft, without whom Mer-Quarium would not exist.
> 
> Speaking of which... Both Martin and W are her original characters, and both have been featured in my long fic _Tread Softly and Carry a Big Gun_, albeit toward the very end. Orchid is my own original character, who also debuted in TSaCaBG, as a prototype Chloe that Elijah integrated into his house.
> 
> Now that all the housekeeping has been taken care of, enjoy a couple thousand words of angsty adorkableness~

~

Like all creatures, mer are beings ruled by instinct. Like humans, we are also capable of thinking logically, but in the event that we find ourselves in danger, we still react on instinct, just as humans do. "Fight or flight" is not a human phenomenon; mer can be quite vicious when cornered, like any other creature. What sets humankind and merfolk apart from other creatures is the ability to choose; when presented with danger, both species freeze momentarily, logic supplanted by the need to lash out or turn and flee, a need that wars with itself for a split second, giving us a chance to decide: Am I capable of facing this threat, or should I run away and live to fight another day?

Dr. Joshua Kamski, PhD

~

"Is this quite necessary?" Elijah stops at the door, which is, at the moment, blocked by a pleasantly plump older black woman with frizzy black curls pulled back in a severe bun, out of her caramel eyes and away from her gentle features, currently twisted in a stark frown.

"Miss Monroe, surely you of all people can appreciate the need for closure," he says plainly.

"Of course I can," Orchid Monroe scowls, crossing her arms. "But he is _ my _ patient, and still recovering!"

"I am simply trying to-"

"I know what you're trying to do, and _ I _ am simply saying no!" she interjects. "It's hardly been a month; he can barely even speak English!"

"All the better," Elijah points out. "It's practice." He moves to pass her and she slaps a hand against his chest, pushing him back.

"Nonono, and no," she says sharply, tipping her chin up defiantly. "You hired me because I was the only one in my field with any knowledge of mer healthcare, and I am gonna do my job right; if you ask him to relive his trauma this soon, you might as well tear open his wounds and rub some salt in them."

"Isn't salt antiseptic?" Elijah notes, quirking a brow. Orchid narrows her eyes at him, unamused.

"It's _ antibacterial _, and that's besides the point; that boy needs rest, not stress."

"Woman, I am trying to help."

"Trying to help, my left foot," Orchid humphs. "You're more interested in your science than the boy's wellbeing!"

"That is absolutely false."

"Don't you lie to me, Elijah Kamski," she scolds, shaking a finger at him. "You'd best be glad I don't know your middle name, or I'd use it."

"I'm not-" Elijah breaks off, exasperated, and shoves his hand through his hair, half-pacing for a moment. "How long until he's recovered and can be released?"

“...A week, give or take,” she answers cautiously, eyeing him warily.

“A week until he’s turned loose, dropped in the middle of the ocean, all alone, and you don’t think it’s a good idea to start rehabilitating his mind by now?” He stares back at her, determined, and she opens her mouth to reply, only to close it in thought; he immediately presses his advantage. “We have an opportunity here to discover more about mer social life, and what natural dangers they face; don't you think we should find out what attacked them in the first place? We could prevent this from happening again, but we have to know what happened first."

Orchid purses her lips, glancing behind her despite the fact that the door’s solid and there’s no way to see into the room.

“...You have ten minutes,” she allows finally.

“Twenty,” Elijah pushes.

“Fifteen,” she compromises, shifting out of the way, “and if he experiences any symptoms of PTSD, that’s the end of it. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal,” he smirks, entering the room.

~

(Recording; August 23, 2035; 0937 hours)

(Interviewer: Elijah S. Kamski)

(Subject: Unknown mer, male, adult?, _ Elipinae Hydrophiinae _ com. coral reef snake)

**What’s your name?**

...Martin. There is no word for it in any human tongue; that’s the closest sound.

**Alright; Martin, then. And the female’s name?**

My sister... Sally.

**Your sister?**

Yes. Very rare; both of us being mer. We have a lot of non-mer siblings. Most do.

**So it’s unusual for two mer to come from the same... what would you call it, a litter?**

Good enough. And yes, very unusual. We’re- ...We _ were _ very close...

**Where were the rest of your family when you were attacked?**

With us. We drew its attention to let them get away. Sally- She wouldn’t go with them.

**What attacked you?**

(indecipherable)

**What does that mean?**

...monster? Nightmare of the sea.

**A sea monster? You were attacked by a sea monster?**

Big. Not the biggest.

**How big?**

Bigger than me. Much bigger. Tiny compared to (indecipherable).

**To...? To what; what is that?**

I don’t know the words... Enormous monster; giant sea serpent; ancient being. Some believe it created mer.

**So, a god.**

No. No such thing. (indecipherable) is... before time; primordial?

(Note: extreme distaste for the concept of ‘god’; discarded belief in the face of tragedy?)

**And that’s ** ** _not_ ** ** what attacked you, correct?**

Not what attacked us. Much smaller.

**But still bigger than you.**

Very.

**What did it look like?**

...huge claws. Big, flat tail, like (indecipherable); what’s the word... lobster. Sharp muzzle; (indecipherable) beak.

**A beak? Like a bird?**

I don’t know what ‘bird’ is.

**Okay... An octopus?**

Ah, yes; similar. Small eyes; big crest... Sharp teeth...

(Note: withdrawn, but not protesting)

**Can you tell me what happened?**

...I wasn’t fast enough. It bit her tail; very high, deadly bite. (indecipherable)

(Note: gesturing to middle, near connection between tail and upper body)

**And... you got it to let go?**

Got its attention. Stabbed its eye. Let her go and came after me.

**What did you do?**

Led it away; lost it in (undecipherable)... a... kelp forest.

**And then you returned to your sister?**

Yes. She-

(Note: can’t continue; too emotional)

**She was injured, so you took her to the nearest humans?**

...Yes.

**Why humans? Surely there must have been some... mer healers or something?**

Yes, but too far; no time.

**The humans were closer.**

Yes.

**And you trusted them to take care of you? Not take advantage?**

...no choice. (indecipherable) Are we done?

(Note: frustrated; angry; remorseful? End questioning)

**Okay. Yeah, we’re done. Thank you, Martin.**

(Recording end; August 23, 2035; 0949 hours)

~

The new tank is bigger, more homey, but it doesn’t make him feel any better. After that human with the hair cut short on the sides and long on top and the funny thing on his face ― glasses ― finished asking him questions, he was moved and even though he desperately wanted to be out of the tight confines of his previous tank, now all he can think about is the fact that she isn’t here with him.

She isn’t here to give him that great big smile and laugh. She isn’t here to dart around the rocks and coral and find a place to nest. She isn’t here to explore the nooks and crannies of what will be his new home for the next... what was it that soft human said? A week?

He’ll be here a week without her. But not just a week... He’ll be without her forever now.

“Sally...” He chokes on the whisper, a sob catching in his throat. Dragging himself along the soft sand of the floor, he tucks into a crevice formed by an overhang of coral around a ledge of rock, wrapping his tail tightly around himself until he’s little more than a ball of coils.

She was supposed to get better. They were supposed to help her.

_ “Her injuries were too severe.” _

_ “We did everything we could.” _

_ “She fought to the very end.” _

Nothing the gentle human said can take away the agony of being without her. She was too important to him; she was everything, and now she’s gone.

A shred of a fish floats down through the water, landing just in front of his nose, and he reactively snaps it up. Another lands on his coils before he thinks to look up.

Two enormous brown eyes stare back at him, and small hands tear off another piece of fish, this time hold it out to him directly.

“Wh- What?” He blinks at the small mer above him, dainty little tentacles stuck to coral and stone. The tiny hand pushes more insistently, encouraging him to take the piece of fish. “Uh, thanks?”

The smile that lights up the little mer’s face slams through his chest like a physical bolt and he can’t help but smile back as he takes the piece of fish and pops it into his mouth. The little mer wiggles down the rock and crawls across his coils, settling beside his shoulder and immediately tearing off another piece to hold out to him. For no reason he understands, he has the sudden urge to take it with his mouth, straight from the little mer’s fingers, and before he can let himself think too much, he does exactly that. The little mer’s eyes widen and his little mouth opens in surprise as his fingers vanish between the bigger mer’s lips for a split second.

“Haha! Don’t worry, little guy, I’m not gonna eat you,” he hums, reaching up to ruffle the little mer’s hair, which makes him wrinkle his nose and swat the bigger mer’s hand away. “You’re a cute little thing; what’s your name?”

A pause, and then the little mer purses his lips tightly, shaking his head.

“You don’t have a name? Well. That’s okay; my name is Martin.’ He smiles warmly at the little mer, who tentatively returns it. “Have you been here long?” The little mer makes an exaggerated nod, eyes wide for emphasis, and Martin raises his brows. “Really? Do you remember anything from before?” A vehement shake _ no _ . “That’s unfortunate... Were you raised here then?” A slow _ yes _. “Wow. A domestic mer, huh?”

That one earns a tiny, adorable scowl and a pout, and Martin laughs when the little mer punches his shoulder with all the force of a slight current.

“Okay, okay, relax,” he chuckles. “There’s nothing wrong with being domestic; just means you have different background.” The little mer’s expression goes bland and he crosses his small arms. Martin grins. “What’s that look for?”

For a moment the little mer doesn’t react, and then he slowly reaches out to poke lightly at Martin’s chest. At first he thinks the little mer is pointing to something, and he looks, but there’s nothing, and when he meets the little mer’s gaze again, something in it cuts his straight through, stripping away the thin veneer of false joy he wrapped himself in so he wouldn’t fall apart in front of this child.

“What?” he asks again, entirely unconvincing. The little mer cocks his head sympathetically, and he leans forward like he might hug Martin, but stops himself.

Suddenly, Martin simply can’t handle it; something fragile inside him snaps and he pushes away, doing his best not to shove the little mer back. Words fail him, fizzling out on his tongue when he tries to apologise, or explain, or... something. He shakes his head and uncoils abruptly, unceremoniously dumping the little mer off and letting him fall to the sand. Gliding away as quickly as he can, Martin does the only thing he _ can _ do; he escapes and hides.

~

“His name is W,” Elijah smiles softly, watching the small octopus mer follow Martin around the tank. It’s only a matter of hours before he’ll call the extraction team to move Martin back to the ocean and release him, and despite not having told W, the little mer seems to know his tank-mate is leaving soon.

“W?” The tall, elegant matriarchal woman beside him tips her head just so, glancing sidelong at him with a faint smile on her full dark lips. For a woman whose clear, smooth carob skin speaks of very little emotional expression, this is practically a wide grin, and Elijah warms to it.

“Mm. He chose it himself,” he explains. “We went through the alphabet a couple of weeks ago, and he fixated on the letter W. Eventually he decided he wanted it to be his name.”

“So you’re no longer calling him Adorabilis?” she teases lightly.

“Amanda, please,” Elijah laughs, giving her a contentedly amused look. “I have manners.”

“Perhaps, but one would hardly know it to meet you,” Amanda Stern notes in jest.

“Why do I love you again?”

“Because I practically raised you,” she humphs. “And you know better.”

Elijah really laughs at that, and the sound must be loud enough to pass through the glass, because Martin and W both perk up to glance their direction. Then W grabs hold of Martin’s tail, and the snake mer expels an exasperated sigh, causing a plume of bubbles. He wiggles his tail in a vague effort to convince the smaller mer to release him, but W only grins and clings tighter. A slight, reluctant smile twitches at Martin’s lips before he promptly turns away, crossing his arms and pointedly ignoring the little mer.

“How long until he’s released?” Amanda asks quietly, solemn now.

“Martin? A few hours,” Elijah answers. “I don’t look forward to explaining to W that he’s going to be alone again.” Amanda takes a small breath, like she might say something, but she never does, and after a long moment, Elijah clears his throat subtly. “Ah, so... We’ve learned a lot about mer social structure in the past, _ week _ especially; Martin learned English surprisingly quickly, and he’s even started being able to read, though I think that’s more due to W’s influence than my own.”

“Impressive,” Amanda agrees, nodding her approval. “But what use will it be to him in the wild?”

“...If there’s something you want to say, Amanda, you _ know _ I would rather you just come out and say it.”

“Look at him, Eli,” she says bluntly, gesturing at the glass. “Look at how much he adores W. Do you really think releasing him back into the wild, all alone, is the best course of action?”

“He has a family,” Elijah points out, uncomfortable with what she’s suggesting. “We’ll be releasing him back to the same coordinates where we found him, so-”

“So he can be attacked by the same sea monster?” she cuts in, facing him. “Elijah. He said it himself; he’s the only mer in his family now. Releasing him back into the wild, even near the area where his family _ might _ be, is only going to leave him lonelier and far more prone to depression than he already is.”

“But-”

“But nothing,” she interjects again, shaking her head firmly. Her long gold earrings sparkle as the motion makes them catch the overhead lights at different angles. “He lost his _ sister _ , Eli. And being around W is _ helping _. Can you honestly look at them and tell me that he’s the same mer he was when he first met W?”

Elijah opens his mouth to respond, but closes it without a word, turning a slight frown toward the tank, where Martin has curled up around W and the two of them are playing some sort of hand game that absolutely delights W.

“I’m not going to tell you what to do,” Amanda says gently, reaching out to lay one dainty, manicured hand on his shoulder. “But I do truly believe he will be better off here than out there.” Squeezing lightly, she lets her hand fall away as she turns to leave. “Think on it, Eli. I look forward to our next meeting.”

~

“I don’t want to go.” The words are so soft that Elijah almost doesn’t hear them. The moment he registers the words, he motions for the extraction crew to halt what they’re doing, and then faces the edge of the giant tank, where Martin is propped, waiting for the harness to lift him into the travel tank.

“What?” Elijah cocks his head, not entirely sure he heard what he heard. Martin grimaces faintly and glances back below the water, where W is slowly drawing closer. He doesn’t say anything until W reaches out and grabs the tip of his tail, eyes wide and hurt, lip quivering ever so slightly.

“I... I don’t want to go back,” Martin says again, louder now, and looks up at Elijah, determined.

“Why not?” Elijah prompts.

“I- There’s nothing for me to go back to,” the mer says hesitantly, folding his hands in his lap. “I want to stay.”

“Are you sure?”

“...Yes.” There’s just enough heartbreak in the word that Elijah steps closer and crouches to Martin’s level.

“If you ever change your mind, you can say so,” he assures softly. “You were born out there; you know how to survive. But W has to stay; he wouldn’t last a day in the wild, even with you to protect him.” The slightest of flinches tells him that Martin definitely considered it, but he doesn’t address that; tapping Martin’s shoulder lightly, Elijah stands and gestures to the crew that they aren’t needed, not even bothering to apologise. After all, they’re getting paid regardless; what is there for them to complain about?

He doesn’t say anything when Martin slides back into the tank and grabs W in a tight embrace that the little mer returns fiercely, but he can’t help a small smile as he shakes his head, already imagining Amanda’s smug ‘I told you so’ look; she might never say it aloud, but for someone who knows her as well as Elijah does, all she needs is a glance.

**Author's Note:**

> Come chat on the [New Era Discord server](https://discord.gg/tDbreP7) I'm in! We're a friendly bunch and love new faces.


End file.
